บท 112: General Skywalker
"General Skywalker!"
The man who entered the room was surprisingly young, and had a serious semblance. It was human, with brow hair an brown eyes. He was wearing the battle robes the jedi used under their cloaks, and had a lightsaber hanging on his hips.
Dageer knew that jedi. They had briefly met on the series of battles on Rhen Var, Alaris Prime and Thule. More specifically, Dageer was on the force sent to rescue him after he had been captured, but the jedi had escaped on his own.
However, when Dageer met him, the jedi was only a padawan. It appeared he had passed the famous jedi tests.
His name was... something Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker, if Dageer wasn't wrong. Besides his hair being slightly longer, the padawan... no, jedi, hadn't changed much.
"General Skywalker."
"And you are?"
"Sub-commander Dageer, from the 303rd Attack Legion, general. We met at the Rhen Var campaign. I am also the squad commander of Hell Squad."
"Ohhh... you were on the team sent to Alaris Prime, weren't you? Your armor was different though. It is good to meet you, trooper."
The stern face of the jedi lit up in a bright smile, and he offered his hand to Dageer. The clone stood petrified, not knowing what to do. No matter if it was jedi or clone, no superiors would ever make such a gesture to a mere clone he just met. And doing such had never passed through Dageer's mind. It just wasn't a common thing.
"Come on, shake it."
On the side, Captain Rex shook his head while smiling. He had passed the same experience as Dageer. Realizing the jedi still had his hand stretched, Dageer quickly gripped and shook it.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, general. Again."
"All right, Dageer. What news do you have for us?"
"General Di sent me to discuss our attack plan on Dantooine."
"Okay. You and Rex do that, I have to return to the Jedi Temple. See you later."
"General, it is important that you..."
Seeing the jedi excuse himself of the strategy meeting, Captain Rex tried to hold him back, to no avail. General Skywalker had already left before Captain Rex even finished speaking.
"Is he always like that?"
"I only met him yesterday, and that is already the third time he did that. His master, General Kenobi says we have to keep an eye on him because he tends to be brash. I am not sure how I am supposed to do that. Anyway, we have more pressing matters."
"You are right. According to the plan, the 501st will attack Khoonda, the second-largest city, and the biggest economic center. The Separatist are already rooted on the planet, so their defenses will be nothing short from near unbreakable. You have two options, ground assault our air assault."
"What are their anti-aircraft defenses?"
"Turrets, cannons, Dwarf-Spider Droids... anything you can possibly imagine and more. Their ground defenses are no joke either. Hailfire, AATs, turrets, and off course a huge number of clanckers. The only good news is that they are out of Vulture droids, thanks to the resistance of the Republic forces prior on the planet."
"Do we still have any troops on the planet?"
"No. All that could be evacuated have been, and those who didn't... are dead."
"What is the plan, Dageer?"
"Frontal, direct attack. No other way. Dantooine is ninety percent grass plains. They have nowhere to hide, and so do we. That is why two legions are being used. Although I didn't know the 501st was smaller than usual."
"We will make up for that with the quality of our soldiers. Give us a few battles and the 501st will be unstoppable."
"I hope that is true."
----------------------
The meeting between Dageer and Captain Rex lasted well over two hours, on which all the strong and weak points of the droid defenses had been discussed. There was not much chance of a mistake on the Republic intelligence, because Datooine had simple geographical features.
When Dageer returned to The Sincerity, all the attack strategy had been laid out for Captain Rex, and it was on him to pass it to General Skywalker. How well the 501st executed it would depend on both the clone and the jedi leadership.
The only missing information for Dageer was Hell Squad role. On a planet-wide invasion, what one squad could make was limited. He had to consult with Commander Keeli and see what were his intentions.
Luckily, he found Commander Keeli quickly, eating in the mess.
"Dageer. Have you eaten yet?"
"No, commander. I've been at the meeting with Rex for the last few hours."
"Rex?"
"The captain of the 501st Legion. He is the same as their commander. That legion is quite confusing, to say the least."
"What is up with them?"
"Not exactly them. They are special legion, like the Wolfpack. What I find weird is that we are to attack Dantooine with them, and nobody told us that. Did you know, commander?"
"No. This is the first time I heard that."
"Their general is General Skywalker, former padawan of General Kenobi. I mean no disrespect to him, but, between us, commander, don't you think it is weird to bring out a special legion just to put it under an inexperienced general?"
"Yeah. Yeah... I will see what I can found about that. But what about our battle plans for Dantooine. Are any changes necessary?"
"I don't think so. No matter what, they are a well-trained legion. Besides, Captain Rex appears very capable. I am pretty sure he was the one who commanded the cadets in the Battle of Kamino."
"So he has some experience after all. Well, we will have to see how it goes. Sit and eat. You have been in two strategic meetings in a row."
Dageer sat down and took off his helmet. His shaved head was glowing with beads of sweat. A droid brought him his meal, and Dageer ate it contentedly. It was only after eating his fill that Dageer remembered why he had searched for Commander Keeli.
"Commander, what are Hell Squad orders? I was presented the entire battle but in no moment we were mentioned."
"That is because Hell Squad has no specific tole in that battle. We first have to establish a foothold on the planet, and then we will find your targets."
"We need to find a temporary replacement for Three-four. A medic is of utmost importance, even more if we have to go alone somewhere."
"We will find someone. Now, prepare to leave. The 303rd will shortly be off to another battle."
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